Debating Tricks: Never Let ‘Em Pin You Down!
Some folks have a powerful need to be right, i.e., a deep desire for some prized belief to be true. You might call this need “wishful thinking.”
Suppose Wendy Wisher makes a claim, P, which is inconsistent with relevant evidence. Her friend Jane points out that P is probably false, given the evidence. What does Wendy do?
She goes into ad hoc mode, slightly modifying P to avoid the conflicting evidence, thereby arriving at Q, which differs from P. Jane notes the change. Wendy claims to have had Q in mind the whole time. But Q conflicts with other evidence, making Q probably false as well. So Wendy changes her tune again. This time, she claims R, which is a modification of Q. “I meant R from the beginning!” Wendy insists. But R doesn’t stand up to reason either, and so Wendy changes R to S, and so on.
I call this trick: “Never let ‘em pin you down!”
One problem with this stratagem is that its user doesn’t defend any particular claim. She’s not interested in reasonable dialogue or in the truth. Instead, she’s playing a game of tag and keeps changing the rules to avoid being “it” because being “it” requires the hard work of defending a belief against objections and perhaps admitting that her treasured belief is false.
The irony is that Wendy has no single belief regarding R. She keeps changing her mind. Rather, she might be attached to some strong feeling or desire that she loosely associates with P, Q, R, and S, combined with an unwillingness to admit being wrong.